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Drink driving

What happens when you drink alcohol?

Your brain takes longer to receive messages from your eyes. Processing information (like what’s going on around you) takes a lot longer than usual. Instructions to your muscles from your brain are delayed, slowing your reaction times *1. This means that your ability to drive safely is impaired, even when you’ve consumed a small amount *2

It’s no surprise that you’re more likely to crash your car if you’ve been drinking.

Remember – you should always consider the morning after the night before. Don’t risk driving for many hours afterwards. There are online calculators which will give you an idea of how long to wait. The only thing that gets rid of alcohol is TIME – not showers, a cooked breakfast or coffee.

If you’re caught over the limit, the repercussions aren’t just a disqualification and a fine, it means increased insurance (although some insurers won’t insure you at all), a criminal record, less employment prospects and even being barred from travelling to certain countries.

Drug Driving:

Our officers are trained to spot signs of drug use in drivers. We can now carry out roadside tests to use when we suspect a driver has been taking drugs.

Although the physical effects of drugs may differ, they all impair your ability to drive. Some make you feel invincible, but the combination of this and slower reaction times is deadly. So called ‘legal highs’ can have the same effect.

Here are some of the effects of drugs on driving*1:

Cannabis: lack of concentration and paranoia leads to mistakes.

Ecstasy: messes with your vision and hearing. Your physical motor skills don’t work properly. That means that you won’t be able to steer properly, amongst other things.

Cocaine: affects your judgement of distances. It also makes you a more aggressive and dangerous driver.

LSD: the chances of having a good or a bad ‘trip’ are a bit of a lottery. LSD is the most dangerous drug you can take before driving.